I never saw this posted, but it looks like the Alta study is available online:
https://www.laconianh.gov/DocumentCente ... tober-2019
One of the most interesting things to me is that the study corridor extends from Franklin to Weirs Beach. The study does reference the WOW trail many times early on, so a casual reader might assume that all of the analysis applies only to the Lakeport to Weirs section of the Wow trail, but all of the analysis actually covers 11.1 miles of trail construction. When following the issue last fall, I assume the fuss was all about the Lakeport to Weirs segment.
Some fun things to note from the study about the differences between Rail To Trail vs. Rail With Trail:
- Rails to Trail 700k to 800k more total trail users over 25 years than the Alternative B (Rails WITH Trail) option
- Rails to Trail would add $12-$14 million more spending by out-of-towners than Rail With Trail and that spending would support creating 0-10 more jobs
- They expect same level of train ridership for Rails to Trail and Rails WITH Trail option, adding 150k to 200k more riders over the 25 year period
The cost comparison was interesting. The Rails with Trail would cost $10-$13 million more to build and cost at least $1.3 million in economic loss, in addition to the uncalculated economic cost of effectively shutting down the Plymouth & Lincoln shops. They also estimated the costs of paved & unpaved for Rail with Trail but only unpaved for Rail to Trail.